Nation Briefs

WARREN, Ohio – A sport utility vehicle carrying eight teenagers crashed into a guardrail Sunday morning and flipped over into a swampy pond in northeast Ohio, killing six of them while two escaped, the state highway patrol said.

The Honda Passport veered off the left side of a road, hit a guardrail and overturned just south of the city of Warren, about 60 miles east of Cleveland, Lt. Anne Ralston said. Investigators say it came to rest upside down in the swamp and sank with five of the victims trapped inside. A sixth who was thrown from the SUV during the crash was found under it when the vehicle was taken out of the water.

The two survivors escaped and ran to a nearby home to call 911, the highway patrol said.

5 firefighters hurt in 5-alarm N.J. fire

HARRISON, N.J. – Authorities say five firefighters were injured while battling a five-alarm fire at a northern New Jersey building that extended to some adjoining buildings.

None of the injuries was considered life-threatening, but officials said one firefighter suffered extensive cuts when a backdraft caused an explosion that shattered a window.

The fire broke out Sunday morning in Harrison and burned for several hours before it was brought under control. It’s not yet clear what sparked the blaze, which apparently started in a restaurant on the building’s ground floor and spread toward a nearby apartment building. No civilian injuries were reported.

The fire sent heavy, black smoke spewing from the two-story building. It also spurred travel delays and forced organizers to re-route a St. Patrick’s Day parade being staged nearby.